August 2014 Archives

In the past 10 years, Google has spent $23 billion in purchasing 145 companies. For the most part, these acquisitions have helped the company prosper and control various online content portals. According to many observers, one of the best investments that Google made was when it purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006. While some thought that the purchase price was high at the time, YouTube grossed $5.6 billion in 2013.

The Internet has made it easier for entrepreneurs to start their own companies and for customers to find the products that they sell. However, starting an online business requires good business sense and a long-term vision. When online entrepreneurs first start out, they may decide that a cool website is more important than the features it provides. This is a critical mistake that can turn customers off.

A Brooklyn restaurant that had the same name as a famous jewelry company was forced to change its name, change its facade from gold and purple and pay the jewelry company $25,000. The restaurant, which operated in Sheepshead Bay, went by the name Faberge without the use of an accent over the last letter. The jeweler that goes by the same name called it a shameless appropriation of its intellectual property.

New York residents may be interested to learn how Walgreens recently decided against a lucrative business move. After facing pressure from activists and lawmakers, the company chose not to move its headquarters from the United States to Switzerland. The move overseas would have saved Walgreens an estimated $4 billion on its U.S. tax bill over the next five years.